Following the shock success of T. Williams’ ‘Heartbeat’, voted #3 dance track of the year by US iTunes, Local Action returns for 2011 with the debut 12” by Contakt. Contakt hails from the Midwest, but now lives in New York, where he helps run the acclaimed TURRBOTAX® parties. The Sinden-championed ‘Not Forgotten’ is an ideal introduction to the balance he gets between Detroit techno and contemporary underground club music, with huge galloping drums and fiery synths, while the B-side is dedicated to a stunning remix by Rolando (Underground Resistance / Ostgut-Ton), and a real sleeper hit in the dark, stabbing ‘Rhodophyta’.
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It often said that all good things must come to an end, but it's especially satisfying when that end is a real high note. We'd like to think that's the case with ICEE HOT, as its five- year run as a party and a label is coming to a close this month, both with a 28­hour marathon goodbye event and with Daddy Issues, the latest EP from Vin Sol & Matrixxman. In many ways, the two San Francisco producers have blossomed right alongside Icee Hot, as their Soo Wavey label (along with both producers' output for other imprints) has become essential listening. As such, when the time came to select someone for the very last Icee Hot record, Vin Sol & Matrixxman felt like the best candidates to represent San Francisco and all of the great times we've had here over the past five years. The EP's title and artwork is an obvious nod to the city and its rich history of electronic music and counterculture, but there's also a more personal inspiration at work. "The truth behind it is painfully simple actually," explains Matrixxman. "Vin's father died at young age and my father is dead to me, figuratively speaking. Subsequently, we both have grappled with myriad daddy issues over the years. It's a common bond that we have shared. We are blood brothers actually, an oath we took about six years ago, as a result of this." Daddy Issues finds Vin Sol & Matrixxman putting their fleet of analog gear to work, and the EP is stuffed with urgent, drum machine­driven tracks. "Lotus Position" might be the moodiest of the bunch, its smooth synths gliding over snapping rhythms and a playful bassline. Icee Hot's own Ghosts On Tape gives the track a punchier feel with his 'Natural Instinct' Mix, which piles on the underwater synths and goes about its business with a casually epic flair. On the flip, Vin Sol & Matrixxman go back to work and take the gloves off. "Interrog8" is a more unhinged techno affair, and a particularly paranoid one at that, particularly with its insistent drum patterns and eerily synth melodies. Then there's "What You See," a stripped­ down yet remarkably complex track that serves as an even better showcase of Vin Sol & Matrixxman's excellent drum work. Clearly, these guys are reaching a new level of excellence, and we're very lucky to capture just a bit of it on the final Icee Hot 12".
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The ICEE HOT label has never been busier, and that active streak is set to continue with another new addition to the roster: San Francisco producer Roche (a.k.a. Ben Winans). Having previously released music on Hieroglyphic Being's Mathematics imprint and 100% Silk, Roche comes to ICEE HOT with quite an impressive resume, and this two­ track outing is the latest chapter in what's quickly becoming an excellent body of work. The a­-side offers an enticingly tripped­ out journey; full of swirling synths and twisting techno rhythms, "Depths" clocks in at more than 11 minutes in length, but every second is worth savouring. On the flip side, "Seers" brings the proceedings back to Earth with its snapping snares and insistently funky bassline, although the track's alien melodies do keep things enjoyably odd.
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ICEE HOT has grown and evolved quite a bit during its four­plus years of existence, and so have the talents of party/label co­founder Ghosts On Tape (a.k.a. Ryan Merry). Back in 2012, the San Francisco ­based producer was responsible for the first ICEE HOT release ("Nature's Law" / "No Go"), and he followed that up in 2013 with "No Guestlist" / "Still Got The Feeling". Now, he's returned with a new 12", and it just might be his best work yet. "Only Now" kicks things off in a rollicking fashion, its stuttering synth riff taking center stage and gradually building atop Ghosts On Tape's trademark drummy percussion. Those whose who've followed Merry's work know that his command of rhythmic interplay has always been at the heart of his production, and while that skill helps to make "Only Now" an enticing proposition, it really shines on "Snake Box." Abandoning melody almost entirely, the track offers an intense, drum­heavy workout over an insistently thudding bassline. On the remix front, ICEE HOT has enlisted Chicago duo Innerspace Halflife, who infuse "Only Now" with soaring cosmic synths and twisting melodies, giving the song a decidedly (no pun intended) ghostly feel.
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When San Francisco's ICEE HOT launched its own record label last fall with a new record from Ghosts On Tape (one of the party's founders), there was a lot of talk about how quiet he's been in recent years. Now, a mere nine months later, that's all changed. Following the release of "Nature's Law," Ghosts On Tape has been on an absolute tear, dropping numerous remixes and turning out new tunes at a blinding clip. At this point, he's built up a solid reserve of dancefloor weapons, and ICEE HOT is thrilled to begin unleashing it upon the world "No Guestlist" is the first salvo, and it's an absolute stormer. Combining the brash spirit of classic Chicago with Ghosts On Tape's drum-heavy sensibilities, the much sought-after tune has been lighting up ICEE HOT for months and is poised to do some major damage. The producer's own "Underground Mix" takes things deeper, albeit while keeping the sass of the original version intact. Finnish producer Arttu has also been enlisted to remix "No Guestlist," and kicks off the b-side with a playful and light-hearted take that employs snapping drum patterns and gleefully lilting melodies. Rounding out the record is another Ghosts On Tape original, "Still Got the Feeling," a darker, slower burning cut that reflects just how effective he can be when experimenting with a more techno-flavored template.

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Last year, San Francisco's Icee Hot made the jump from party to record label, kicking off its run with a release from resident/co-founder Ghosts on Tape and following it up with a record from Lando Kal, an artist whose ties to the Bay Area (and the Icee Hot crew in particular) ran deep. For its third offering, Icee Hot has extended its reach beyond its inner circle, enlisting Montreal duo Grown Folk and offering up the pair's first new songs in more than a year. Following 2011's impressive City Wind and Droptop EPs (released on Templar and Silverback, respectively), Grown Folk locked itself in the studio, cooking up a batch of songs that combine the rich melodic sensibilities of late-'90s/early-'00s progressive sounds with slow-motion house grooves. Both "The Boat" and "Keep Few Near" are slow-burning, synth-driven productions, albeit ones with chunky basslines and enough groove to keep the dancefloor moving. Deep, hypnotic, and quite unlike the efforts currently being put forth by most young producers, these songs are the work of a production outfit whose artistry has quite clearly taken a major leap forward. On the flip side, the Icee Hot has once again proven its mettle when it comes to remix curation, as Dutch veteran Gerd has followed up his stellar 2012 by transforming "The Boat" into a muscular, drum-heavy house workout, one that eschews melody almost entirely while putting a modern spin on booming, Dance Mania-style rhythms. Similarly potent is Ghosts on Tape's remix of "Keep Few Near," which also puts the drums front and center as it rolls out an epic flurry of darting, warehouse-rattling synths that recall the glory days of early-'90s hardcore. With remixes this good, it might be hard to decide whether the original cuts or the reworks pack the greater punch; luckily, those who grab this record won't have to make that call.

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It's been three years since Ghosts on Tape (a.k.a. Ryan Merry) last released an EP of his own, and while the San Francisco-based producer has remained busy on the remix front, many have likely missed the transformation he's undergone in the interim. Fueled by his position as a founding member and resident DJ at Icee Hot, not to mention his selection as a participant at the 2011 Red Bull Music Academy in Madrid, Merry has gradually moved away from the warped tropical beats that marked his initial output, and now uses his beloved '90s-era Yamaha SU700 samplers (yes, they run on floppy disks) to explore the dark and ominous underbelly of classic house and techno, sounds he then colors with a penchant for upfront, bass-heavy futurism.Kicking off the newly minted Icee Hot label?which Merry runs in conjunction with XLR8R editor Shawn Reynaldo, Low Limit (of Lazer Sword fame), and Rollie Fingers?"Nature's Law" finds Ghosts on Tape in top form, layering fuzzed-out synth melodies over a clacking and clapping drum pattern that has just enough shuffle to make things truly interesting. Gradually blossoming into a full-blown rave crescendo over the course of nearly eight minutes, "Nature's Law" is a prime example of the trippy late-night journeys Ghosts on Tape loves to instigate. Taking a different approach is "No Go," a hard-charging bruiser with an aggressively bubbling bassline and a litany of sinister sounds. The flipside offers a pair of similarly potent "Nature's Law" remixes, the first from Lando Kal, one half of Lazer Sword and the producer who also happens to be responsible for Icee Hot's forthcoming second release. Here, Lando dials back the original while brewing up a hypnotic odyssey into the darkest recesses of the dancefloor. Even deeper is the record's final outing, a rework from New York house mainstay and Underground Quality bossman Jus-Ed, who boils the song down to its essentials and comes up with something that is simultaneously tasteful and infectious. More

Over the past few years, Lando Kal (a.k.a. Antaeus Roy) has undergone quite the transformation. In the process of relocating from San Francisco to New York to Berlin, the man has blossomed as an artist. Where he was once simply known as one half of Lazer Sword, he's now celebrated as an accomplished producer in his own right, having released music for the esteemed Rush Hour and Hotflush labels while also helping to pilot the Stillcold imprint. Throughout this time, he's also been considered an extended member of the Icee Hot family, a crew whose ranks include Ghosts on Tape, Shawn Reynaldo, Rollie Fingers, and Lando's Lazer Sword compatriot, Low Limit. As such, when the San Francisco-based Icee Hot made the leap from party promotion to record label earlier this year, Lando Kal was an obvious choice to join the roster, and his "Let You in the Sky" / "Help Myself" single just might be some of his best work yet. Since installing himself in the German capital, Lando has (unsurprisingly) found himself delving deeper into the world of techno and its various sound palettes, an exploration which has properly borne fruit here. "Let You in the Sky" is a churning slice of techno colored by lilting synths, melodic stabs, and an almost robotic vocal sample. "Help Myself" takes a slightly funkier approach, layering swaying pads and sassy vocal snippets over a steady pulse before exploding with an array of claps and hi-hats about halfway through. Digital-only cut "So Correct" might be the most propulsive track on the release, its uptempo percussion and chunky rhythms carried along by an insistent piano riff. The remixes also come correct, the first courtesy of Detroit legend Anthony Shakir. "Shake" has always been a bit of a chameleon, but his take on "Help Myself" finds him exploring a new sound, one punctuated by overdriven synths, wildly distorted vocal bits, and a wonderfully sashaying pattern of bongos. Rounding out the record is a rework from Montreal youngsters Grown Folk, who will also be at the helm of the next Icee Hot release. The duo's version of "Let You in the Sky" offers a dark, pounding undercarriage that's unique to its discography, but also bathes the tune in a warm cloud of the pair's trademark billowing synth melodies. More